Bodisen Biotech, SuperGen, Webex, more

Advancers

Adobe Systems Inc.
ADBE, -1.17%
signed a multi-year agreement with Google Inc.
GOOG, -3.39%
to distribute the Google Toolbar with various Adobe products. Terms weren't disclosed. Adobe and Google will make Google Toolbar available with downloads of Adobe's Macromedia Shockwave Player.

A.G. Edwards
AGE, -13.61%
reported second-quarter earnings of $ 77.6 million, or $1.01 a share, from $51.8 million, or 67 cents a share, a year earlier. Last year's results were adjusted by 4 cents a share to reflect stock option expensing. The latest quarter includes a gain 10 cents a share related to the merger of the New York Stock Exchange and Archipelago Holdings Inc., which created the NYSE Group Inc.

Arkansas Best Corp.
ABFS
was upgraded to overweight from equal-weight at Stephens Inc. The firm cited accelerating business trends and lifted its price target on the stock to $52.

Blue Nile
NILE
was upgraded at Lehman Bros. to overweight from equal-weight. The firm cited operational improvements at the online diamond retailer and boosted its price target on the stock to $36 from $34.

Bodisen Biotech
BBC, -0.96%
said it's signed new product supply contracts totaling 200,000 metric tons of bio compound fertilizers with the government of A La Er, Xinjiang, a province in China. The company estimates the contracts are worth about $45 million. The company also said it's received income tax exemption status for all products sold in the Xinjiang province through 2010.

Concorde Career Colleges
CCDC
agreed to be acquired by an affiliate of Liberty Partners, a New York City-based private equity firm, for about $114.5 million. The deal values shares of Concorde Career, a Mission, Kan., post-secondary education company, at $19.80 each.

Celera Genomics Group
CRA, -4.17%
forecast a fiscal 2007 net loss of $28 million to $35 million. The company did not provide a per-share figure. End-user sales of products sold through the company's alliance with Abbott Laboratories
ABT, -0.89%
are expected to rise 35% to 40% over fiscal 2006. Reported revenue is seen at $40 million to $45 million. Separately on Thursday, the Rockville, Md., company said it formed a strategic collaboration with Medarex Inc.
MDRX, -2.16%
to discover and develop human antibodies that could treat multiple cancer indications.

Del Monte Foods Co.
DLM
reported fourth-quarter net income tripled to 29 cents a share from 9 cents in the year-earlier period. Earnings from continuing operations came to 21 cents a share. Sales for the three months ended April 30 rose to $799.2 million from $774.4 million. Analysts polled by Thomson First Call forecast earnings of 20 cents on sales of $858.5 million. The San Francisco packaged-foods company also said it would eliminate management layers. Del Monte expects to incur pre-tax charges of about $110 million over two years from the plan, but also sees higher long-term growth because of costs savings. For the first quarter, Del Monte forecast earnings per share to range from break-even to a loss of 4 cents.

Federated Department Stores
FD
agreed to sell its Lord & Taylor division to NRDC Equity Partners LLC for $1.2 billion in cash. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter. Purchase, N.Y.-based NRDC is a partnership between principals of Apollo Real Estate Advisors L.P. and National Realty & Development Corp. The sale includes 48 Lord & Taylor stores in the Northeast and Midwest, as well as a distribution center in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. Federated is based in Cincinnati.

General Mills
GIS, +0.34%
was upgraded to buy from neutral at Merrill Lynch on valuation, with the broker saying there's upside to its 2007 earnings estimate of $3.16 a share. "The integration of Pillsbury, which has been such a detractor from the consistency that General Mills had been known for, is essentially over. We think now is the time that Mills will regain credibility with the Street and be rewarded with a higher multiple," the brokerage said.

Gerber Scientific
GRB, +4.21%
reported fourth-quarter net income of $3.9 million, or 17 cents a share. Results were hurt by a charge of 2 cents a share related to the adoption of accounting for contingent asset retirement obligations. Revenue was $143.1 million. The South Windsor, Conn.-based company did not provide year-ago results. Analysts, on average, expected Gerber to earn 11 cents a share on revenue of $135 million, according to Thomson First Call. The company said incorrect accounting for its non-qualified supplemental pension plan may have resulted in an understatement of previously reported expenses during fiscal 1994 through fiscal 2005, net of income taxes, of about $800,000 to $1.5 million.

Green Mountain Power Corp.
GMP, -3.14%
said it agreed to be acquired for $35 a share, or $187 million, by Northern New England Energy Corp., a unit of Gaz Metro L.P. of Quebec. The offer price is a premium of 25% over the company's close of $27.99 Wednesday. The transaction has been approved by Green Mountain Power's board and will require the approval of shareholders.

Health Grades Inc.
HGRD
said its board has approved the buyback of up to 3 million shares of the company's common stock. The Golden, Colo., provider of ratings for hospitals said the authorization represents more than 10% of its outstanding stock.

MasterCard
MA, -1.19%
was initiated with an overweight rating and a price target of $56 a share by Morgan Stanley. The broker said litigation and other risks associated with the stock may be less severe than the market expects. MasterCard's exposure to legal fights over interchange fees and other issues may be $1.6 billion, compared to published estmates of $6 billion. "Our lower estimate stems from our view that the major banks, as co-defendants, will push to settle, rather than risk a trial; that the major economic impact of settlement will be a modest reduction in interchange fees, which MasterCard does not retain, rather than massive cash penalties," Morgan Stanley said in a note to clients.

Netflix
NFLX, -1.26%
was upgraded to overweight from equal-weight by Lehman Brothers, with the broker saying it's transforming the $9 billion domestic video rental market. "Netflix is increasing its share of online subscribers and will end the second quarter with a critical mass of over 5 million subscribers, contributing to stronger word-of-mouth advertising and driving further closures of traditional retail rental stores," the brokerage said.

Nice Systems Ltd.,
NICE, +0.14%
the Ra'anana, Israel, provider of recording and archiving technology, raised its estimates of second-quarter earnings and revenue. In a statement, Nice said it based the move on stronger-than-expected demand for its enterprise-interaction and public-safety and -security solutions. The company expects adjusted second-quarter earnings of 25 cents to 30 cents a share, against its earlier estimate of 22 cents to 24 cents. On May 18, Nice declared a 2-for-1 stock split. A survey of analysts by Thomson First Call produced a consensus estimate of 23 cents. Nice now expects revenue to range $94 million to $98 million, up from its earlier estimate of $89 million to $92 million. First Call's estimate: $90.5 million.

Novell Inc.'s
NOVL
board decided to replace its top management, with CEO Jack L. Messman, 66, and CFO Joseph S. Tibbetts, Jr., 53, out of their jobs effective Wednesday. COO Ronald W. Hovsepian, 45, will become chief executive, while Controller Dana C. Russell will be interim CFO. "The board concluded that a management change would be the best way to accelerate the execution of our growth strategy and build value for shareholders. Ron is the ideal choice to lead the company as we continue with our transition to Linux-based products and identity and resource management and leverage our unique support of mixed source environments," said Thomas G. Plaskett, a director who's been elected non-executive chairman. Messman will stay on Novell's board until the end of October.

Option Care
OPTN, +2.26%
shares rose after the company signed a three-year exclusive agreement with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. The deal calls for Option Care to provider mail order specialty pharmacy services to BCBSM's 4.7 million members. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

Pacific Internet
PCNTF
shares rose after MediaRing, a VoIP telephony service provider in Asia, raised its cash offer for the company to $9.50 a share. The revised offer price represents an increase of 15.2% from MediaRing's initial bid of $8.25 and a 47.1% premium over Pacific Internet's closing share price Feb. 24, the day before the first offer was announced. MediaRing stated that the new offer price is final and that it has extended its offer to July 10.

Qiao Xing Universal Telephone
XING
said it plans to release certain key financial data for the first quarter next week, and that it plans to begin providing more comprehensive quarterly reporting beginning in the third quarter.

Tekelec
TKLC
shares rose after the company said it plans to implement a restructuring plan it expects to result in 60 layoffs. The Morrisville, N.C. network applications provider said the plan will involve a $3.4 million charge in the quarter ended in June 30 to cover severance and other costs. Tekelec sees annual operating savings between $8 million and $8.5 million. The company also received an upgrade to buy from Jefferies.

Transocean
RIG, -2.94%
received contracts valued at as much as $950 million over six years from Norsk Hydro AS
NHY, +3.60%
of Norway. Under a four-year drilling accord, Transocean will construct an Enterprise-class drillship at the Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co.
DWOTF
yard in Okpo, South Korea. The other pact, for two years, retains the semi-submersible rig Henry Goodrich for drilling operations in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.

Winnebago Industries
WGO, -2.19%
increased its quarterly cash dividend 11%, to 10 cents from 9 cents a share. The dividend is payable Oct. 9 to shareholders of record as of Sept. 8, the Forest City, Iowa-based maker of recreational vehicles said.

Decliners

Boston Scientific
BSX, -0.93%
and Johnson & Johnson
JNJ, -1.30%
were both trading lower following a Wall Street Journal report that a number of cardiology centers are scaling back their use of drug-coated stents.

British Airways
BAB, -0.02%
shares slumped on news the company is being investigated by competition authorities in both the U.S. and the United Kingdom over ticket price and fuel surcharges. See full story.

Clarcor Inc.
CLC, +3.90%
reported second-quarter earnings of 32 cents a share, down from 33 cents in the year-earlier period. The Franklin, Tenn., provider of filtration products posted revenue of $227.1 million vs. $219.8 million. Analysts polled by Thomson First Call had forecast earnings of 38 cents on revenue of $233 million.

Gene Logic
GLGC
shares plummeted after the company said it expects revenue from its Genomics unit to be significantly lower than previously anticipated for the second quarter and full year. The Gaithersburg, Md., biotech said it expects the weak revenue to hurt operating results for the unit for the foreseeable future, and it withdrew its financial outlook for 2006 and 2007.

Hampshire Group
HAMP
said its audit committee plans to investigate issues related to the misuse and misappropriation of assets for personal benefit, certain related party transactions, tax reporting, internal control deficiencies and financial reporting and accounting for expense reimbursements. The investigation involves certain members of the apparel company's senior management and pending the outcome of the probe the board has placed chief executive Ludwig Kuttner, former chief financial officer Charles Clayton, vice president of finance and principal accounting officer Roger Clark, and two personal assistants on administrative leave. The audit committee has engaged independent counsel to conduct the investigation.

Jabil Circuit Inc.
JBL, -0.73%
reported third-quarter profit rose 8% from a year earlier, but the electronics manufacturer cut forecasts for the rest of its fiscal year. See full story.

NeoPharm
NEOL
shares fell after the company said the independent data monitoring committee overseeing the Cintredkin Besudotox (IL13-PE38QQR) Phase III PRECISE Trial for the treatment of glioblastoma multiforme has recommended the trial continue to the final efficacy analysis at 215 deaths. The company expects to reach the final study endpoint in the first quarter.

Oracle Corp.
ORCL, -0.18%
is scheduled to report its fiscal fourth-quarter results after the closing bell. Analysts polled by Thomson First Call are looking for a profit of 28 cents a share for the May quarter on revenue of $4.74 billion. See full story.

Orchid Cellmark
ORCH, -1.45%
reported a widening loss for the first quarter amid declines in revenue and gross margins. The Princeton, N.J., provider of DNA testing services cited weakness in the volume and pricing for U.S. forensic casework.

Phoenix Technologies Ltd.
PTEC, -0.45%
said it now expects third-quarter revenue of $10 million to $12 million, down from its previous forecast of $24.5 million to $26.5 million. The company attributed the lower-than-expected revenue to slower sales of core system software, among other factors. The company also said it's reducing its expenses.

PixelPlus
PXPL
reported a first-quarter loss of $2.3 million, or 18 cents a share, wider than a year-ago loss of $1.5 million, or 36 cents a share. The company attributed its loss in the latest quarter to a foreign exchange loss arising from the decline of the U.S. dollar against the Korean won, which negatively affected the proceeds from its IPO in December.

RealNetworks
RNWK, -0.61%
was downgraded to underperform from in-line by Goldman Sachs, with the broker citing valuation. The stock is trading at 31 times expected 2007 EBITDA. "We view the company's increased focus on developing its subscription model favorably but revenue growth could be tempered by the lower-average revenue per user and profit cable subscribers from the Comcast & Cox agreements as well as competition from well-funded players. If revenue growth were to surpass our expectations, we believe that this scenario would likely be accompanied by reduced incremental margins given the increasingly challenging landscape within both games and digital music," the brokerage said. See full story.

Rite Aid
RAD, -1.86%
said first-quarter earnings fell sharply from year-ago levels as costs to expand the chain more than offset sales growth. See full story.

Savient Pharmaceuticals Inc.
SVNT
said that additional Phase II results for its Puricase compound being developed to control hyperurecemia in treatment-failure gout showed very promising efficacy results.

Sprint Nextel
S, -2.52%
was downgraded to neutral at Robert Baird. The firm also lowered its price target on the stock to $23.

SuperGen
SUPG
shares were lower after Lazard Capital lowered its rating on the company to sell. After Wednesday's closing bell, the company agreed to sell the North American rights to its Nipent and SurfaceSafe oncology products to Mayne Pharma for a total maximum consideration of $34 million. The deal includes an upfront payment of about $14 million with the remainder contingent upon key events and product performance.

Univision Communications
UVN, +11.11%
shares fell after one of the consortia bidding to acquire it reportedly lost two key members. The Grupo Televisa-led group looking to buy the Spanish language television giant for roughly $11 billion lost investment firms Blackstone Group and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts in a disagreement over the bid price, The New York Times reported in its online edition. See full story.

UTStarcom Inc.
UTSI, -1.47%
said it swung to a quarterly loss as revenue fell 34%. The maker of infrastructure systems for networks forecast results for the current quarter that were below analysts' average expectations. See full story.

Webex Communications
WEBX
was initiated with a hold rating at Jefferies & Co. The firm also set a 12-month price target of $32.

Xyratex Ltd.
XRTX
reported second-quarter earnings more than doubled to 83 cents a share from 38 cents in the year-earlier period. On an adjusted basis, the U.K. maker of data-storage equipment earned 85 cents a share against 45 cents. Revenue rose 70% to $288.9 million from $169.6 million. The average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson First Call was profit of 87 cents on revenue of $277 million.

Yum Brands Inc.
YUM, -0.94%
said it expects second-quarter U.S. blended same-store sales to be flat, China division system sales to be up 29% in local currency, and system sales at its international unit to be up 8% in local currency. U.S. blended same-store sales include company restaurants open a year or more. System-sales growth includes the results of all restaurants, regardless of ownership.

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